Happy accidents
by HappyValentina
Summary: Kurt tries to move on with his life once in New York; it might not be as hard as he thought. Set during season 4, from what we know so far. Major spoilers if you haven't read anything about the upcoming season .
1. Chapter 1

_I'm thinking most fans are familiar with the spoilers we've gotten for the upcoming season. I don't know about you, but I'm heartbroken. So this is just a little something that I decided to write to make myself feel a little better. _

_I don't know what Blake's character is going to be (I just recently watched the Glee Project finale, and I haven't read anything regarding what he might be doing in the series, when he's coming in, etc.) But I just thought I'd make up a character for him to fit into my plot. I know it's probably unlikely that'd his character would start off in New York (I think it's kind of the rule of the Glee Project that the winner gets placed in the Glee club). _

_By the way, I also really wish that Aylin and Ali could've won parts as well. I just loved all three of them, and I thought they would've been perfect for the show. But oh well..._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. It belongs to the evil masterminds Ryan Murphy, Ian Brennan, Brad Falchuk, their evil minions a.k.a The writers, and the Deathstar a.k.a FOX._

_Author's note: In case you're confused, the (a) stands for At, because this site won't let me put in the proper symbol._

* * *

**Happy accidents**

_by HappyValentina_

It had been a week.

An entire week since he'd had his heart torn out of his chest and stomped to a mush on the cement walkway at Battery Park.

And Kurt was nowhere near fine. It could be a long time before he could start feeling himself again.

He'd tried to keep his mind busy, tried to keep it off Blaine, and he tried to ignore how awful he felt; he wanted to distract himself, explore the city, turn himself over completely into his work at Vogue. But it wasn't easy.

For one thing, Rachel did not help. She was always crying over her own breakup, and as a good friend he had the duty to comfort her; the problem was that she wasn't very good at comforting him back.

Second, Tina and the others back at McKinley kept asking him how he was doing. So did Carole, but a bit more subtly. Even his dad kept checking up on him more often than usual. And his boss kept feeding him her favorite biscotti to make him feel better ("Comfort food, sweetie, works like a charm, but you better feel okay soon, unless you want to stop fitting into your pants"), and he wasn't about to refuse biscotti from his new boss, especially since this was a rare display of sympathy from an otherwise -to put it nicely- unrelenting woman; but he hated biscotti because it kind of reminded him of Blaine, and he didn't want to be reminded of Blaine in any way.

And the worst part was that, he had no idea what he was doing. It was his first breakup, and he didn't know what to do, whether he was doing better or worse than normal.

He just really wanted to know how Blaine was doing. He wanted know if Blaine was as devastated as he was, if he wasn't eating properly either, if everything he saw or heard reminded him of Kurt, and if it pained him just as much to think about him. A part of him hoped that he was just as miserable as Kurt, but the other part, the one that was still hopelessly attached to Blaine, really hoped he was doing okay.

Because he hoped that _he_ could be okay eventually. Hopefully soon. Really soon.

"These things take time," his boss had said to him with a dismissive wave of her hand. "I know it sounds awful, but it is like a mourning process. You'll get used to it. Take it from me, I'm on my second divorce. It's nearly a walk in the park by now."

Kurt had nodded politely in understanding and walked out of the office, not feeling better at all.

* * *

_These things take time,_ he told himself over and over again on Monday morning, staring blankly at the ceiling of his bedroom, waiting for the alarm to go off. He probably only slept for like an hour all night.

This thing _better_ not take any more time; he was on the verge of ending up at the self-help section at Barnes & Noble.

It was indeed a mourning process. First came denial, anger and bargaining. Somehow, he didn't know how, he might have skipped over those three in perhaps a day, and had gotten stuck in the stage of isolating depression.

He dreaded the next stage: acceptance. He didn't want to accept this. Accepting that he and Blaine were over would just make it official. There would be no going back.

"Oh god," he muttered miserably, when the alarm clock buzzed and he had to throw off the blankets of his cocoon and face another day.

* * *

"Morning," mumbled Rachel pathetically, dragging herself into their tiny kitchen. She looked like she had been crying all night. Actually, Kurt knew she had been crying all night; he'd heard her clearly whilst lying awake in his bed.

"Morning," Kurt echoed, watching her fetch herself something to eat, which she would ultimately not eat because she was too depressed.

Today, after an entire weekend of not doing anything except the laundry and watching romantic films to torture themselves, Rachel looked exceptionally devastated. For all the ups and downs in Rachel's relationship with Finn, this one was particularly tough to recover from, considering that she had quite recently been engaged and enjoying the high of graduation and a victory at Nationals, but was now dealing with heartbreak, homesickness, and the brutality of the world of performing arts. Kurt felt that slightly bit worse for her than he did for himself.

He really hoped either one of them could be okay soon, because a tiny apartment with two people going through heartbreak was no picnic. Neither of them slept well, even though all they did in their downtime was sleep; the simplest things triggered crying fits; and there was not much in their kitchen except for ice cream and coffee.

"Honey, maybe you should take a day off," he suggested cautiously. Rachel shook her head slowly.

"I'm fine. I can't skip so early in the school year, that would be like suicide."

"I know. Just think about it, okay?"

"Why do you say that?"

"Because you just put salad dressing on your cereal."

Rachel looked down at her bowl, at the Balsamic vinaigrette coating the whole wheat corn flakes and dried strawberries, and started to cry.

* * *

After he'd managed to calm Rachel down, Kurt got ready for another week. Another long, bleak week of feeling angry and sad at everything, and having to hide it all, because he was just starting his internship, and he had to keep his cool; his depression at the bleak state of his love life had no place in the headquarters of Vogue. His boss would probably very much like it if he could start showing up with a good spirit once again.

* * *

He took his new route through Central Park. It's not that he had to walk through Central Park. In fact, he usually walked alongside of it to take the Broadway line at Columbus Circle. But this week, as part of trying something new, he decided to go out a little earlier and have a nice stroll in the park.

It made all the difference in the world, even if it was a rather short walk. Autumn was just beginning, so the trees were still quite green. It was amazing to walk through this city and be surrounded by foliage from all sides, instead of cars and buses. There were people everywhere, walking, jogging, riding bicycles, roller-skating, playing with their dogs; people having picnics, reading on the grass, on benches. There were couples hugging, kissing, walking hand in hand.

Geez, there were _a lot _of couples. He wasn't sure if he was just irked, or if they were really PDA-ing all over the place.

He had the unfortunate coincidence of walking right past a gay couple, possibly in their sixties, sitting on a bench with their arms around each other, each reading a different section of the New York Times. One of them casually grabbed the other's hand and brought it to his lips for a quick kiss.

And Kurt tried not to stop and stare at them like they were ruining his life on purpose, but he did for a second -not that they even noticed-. He couldn't help it. He shoved his hands in his coat pockets and forced himself to keep walking.

But he didn't make it far. He found the nearest bench, as far away from the couple, and he allowed himself to cry it out quietly. He sat there for a few minutes, letting it out. He pulled a tissue out of his bag and wiped away the tears that were silently spilling down his cheeks, and breathed deeply.

Getting over Blaine was proving to be the hardest thing he'd ever do, since coming out. He knew it had only been a week, but god, why did he feel so shitty? Why did _everything_ have to constantly remind him that he had gone from being in love to having all the joy squeezed out of him?

He took another deep breath, got up, and kept going.

As he reached the corner of Central park and Columbus Circle, he checked his watch. Perfect time. He gripped the strap of his bag and adjusted his sunglasses on the bridge of his nose, and stepped out of the busy park and into the even busier street.

"HEAD'S UP!"

Kurt barely processed the voice and the accompanying ringing of a bicycle bell, when he turned in time to see a blurred figure right up in his face. He was suddenly flat on his stomach on the pavement, and almost immediately his mind registered the pain on his left leg and both his hands.

"Oh god! Oh god! I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

There was a crash and heavy steps, and Kurt assumed the cyclist had dropped his bike and rushed over to him. He was going to sit up, but a pair of arms helped him up to his feet. Kurt hissed a little as he dusted himself off; the butts of his hands were a little scraped.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't see you! Are you alright?"

The young man seemed to be talking at a million miles per hour. He spotted Kurt's sunglasses on the sidewalk, picked them up quickly and handed them back carefully.

"I'm fine. Don't worry," Kurt said, but he was hissing with the pain on his leg.

A few people who had stopped in concern lingered until they saw that he was fine. But the bicycle boy was nervously running his hands through his hair repeatedly and looking him up and down.

"Do you need to go to an emergency room?" he asked earnestly.

"No, it's okay," he said, shaking his head. He limped toward the nearest bench and sat down. Oh he'd get a big black bruise on his leg. But he wasn't about to make this guy feel worse.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Because I think it would be a lot better if I took you to an emergency room to make sure you're fine."

Kurt had to contain a smile, because the poor boy hovering around him looked worried that he thought he might pass out or something.

"It's okay. You didn't really hit me that hard," he said, looking for wipes in his bag to clean his hands.

"God, I don't even know what to say," the guy sighed, "I'm so embarrassed."

"Don't be, it could happen to anyone."

"I should've been more careful."

"It's alright. I should be more careful too."

"Don't even try. It was completely my fault. I was going too fast." The boy hesitated for a moment before sliding onto the bench beside Kurt. "Please, let me make it up to you in some way."

Kurt flinched slightly at the sudden proximity. He noticed for the first time that the boy was rather attractive -or actually _very_ attractive-, staring at him earnestly with big brown eyes, and if Kurt hadn't been so bummed about the dreary start to his day, he would've been at least a little thrilled about having this handsome, dorky and adorable stranger fussing over him.

"It's really okay," Kurt said. The boy bit his lip nervously.

"Okay, well, could I... um, could I call you later, or tomorrow?"

Kurt looked vaguely puzzled, and the other boy cleared his throat nervously. "You know, just to- to make sure that you're okay."

"Oh, okay... sure."

The boy pulled out his cellphone and handed it to Kurt so he could program his number into it.

"My name's Tom, by the way." The boy held his hand out sheepishly. Kurt shook it.

"Kurt," he said, handing back the phone to its owner.

"Here, I'll give you my phone number too, in case you need anything," Tom said as he left a missed call on Kurt's phone. "Seriously, because I'm still very much in dire need to make it up to you."

"Okay, I'll keep that in mind," Kurt nodded. He stood up carefully. "I have to go to work."

Tom shoot up to his feet as well. "Okay, well... you're sure you're okay to walk?"

"I'm sure," Kurt said, putting on his sunglasses and starting off.

"Okay, well... sorry again," Tom called.

"Apology accepted."

Kurt could feel Tom watching him as he walked away, so he glanced over his shoulder and waved goodbye. Tom awkwardly waved back, seemingly embarrassed by having been caught staring, before hurriedly mounting his bike and starting on his way again.

Shaking his head and laughing lightly to himself, Kurt kept walking. He didn't realize at that instant that this was the first time he had laughed or smiled in a week.

* * *

He ran into Tom again just a few minutes later in the Starbucks on Times Square. Kurt usually stopped there, at the corner of 43rd and Broadway, the largest Starbucks in Manhattan, to get coffee, and sometimes a bit of breakfast, before heading back to 42nd, to the Condè Nast building where the Vogue headquarters were located.

As he was standing on the line to order, thinking maybe he should try to eat something as well, he saw Tom waiting for his coffee. As soon as the other boy spotted him, his eyes went wide and he rushed over, fumbling for his wallet inside his dark blue jacket.

"Please! My treat! My treat!" he exclaimed. Kurt flinched again, because Tom was standing very close.

"Um..."

"Please! It's the least I can do."

Kurt was starting to turn red. There was something very strong going on somewhere in his chest that completely and utterly prevented him from accepting this cute boy's offer.

"Tom, thank you, but you don't have to do anything-"

"No! Come on. It's barely even a thing. Please?"

Kurt thought about it for a second. "Maybe some other time," he said, ignoring the lump in his throat.

Tom's face fell. "Okay," he said, before walking away dejectedly, making Kurt feel rotten.

* * *

"You're late."

Isabelle was half-glaring at him from her desk, as he walked past the open door of her office. Kurt resisted rolling his eyes as he put his breakfast on his desk and took off his bag and coat. He was only three minutes late. Still, he faked heavy remorse.

"I know. I'm sorry," he said, just as Isabelle walked over to him, handing him a heavy set of folders.

"Kurt, don't do this to me. I need my prodigy to be on his best game," she said. "I know you're going through a rough time, and I understand, but you can't put on hold everything you've worked for."

"I'm not- I'm really sorry. It's just... I got run over by a bike."

His boss lifted an eyebrow and gave him a skeptical, icy-blue stare. "Okay. Well, are you hurt?"

"Not much, I just scraped my hands a bit and my leg got banged up a little, but other than that-"

Isabelle suddenly snatched one of his hands, her perfectly manicured nails accidentally digging into his skin, as she examined it with wide eyes.

"Oh my god! I thought you were making it up! Lisa, get Kurt some ice!"

She snapped her fingers at the person in the corner desk. Lisa, a tiny girl with platinum blond curls, practically dropped her sandwich mid-bite and stood up, heels clacking as she rushed out.

"There's really no need—" Kurt started, when a redhead walked in, a young man and woman in tow.

"Isabelle, as you requested, I moved the appointment to 3, and the conference call to 4. Also, this is from the new Proenza Schouler photoshoot they did. Maurice said they have some interesting outtakes. Also, I asked them about the Bottega Veneta, they said that they're going to have to do it again because Anna was, and I quote, 'not thrilled'. I confirmed your lunch reservation. And here are the new interns."

Isabelle's asssistant, Kelly, who reminded Kurt of Emily Blunt in The Devil Wears Prada -tho perhaps less bitchy-looking-, handed her a portfolio, and then pointed to the guy and girl with her.

Kurt almost laughed in disbelief when Tom's face contorted with mortification at the sight of Kurt.

"This is Arianna Colton, and this is Tom Farrell," Kelly said, pointing to them in turn. "I already showed them the way here, but a complete tour might have to wait, Jeff is currently unavailable."

Tom and Arianna shook hands pleasantly with Isabelle and Kurt. Kurt noticed that Tom's hand was a bit sweaty. He looked so nervous, poor thing.

"Great. Well, you two have perfect timing. The September issue is out, so it's downhill from here, until Christmas, of course," Isabelle said, going over their CVs. "Oh, Tom, you're from Ohio? Hey, Kurt, he's also from Ohio."

"Really?" Kurt smirked. Tom nodded sheepishly.

"Marion. You?"

"Lima."

"Great, you two can totally swap stories about living in the middle of nowhere," Isabelle added. "But not right now. Kelly, will you show them to their work stations, please?"

To Kurt's amusement, Tom would be sitting in the recently vacated desk next to Kurt's. He watched him awkwardly settle in under Kelly's supervision.

"There'll be a briefing later, don't worry," he said once Kelly and Isabelle went back to work.

"Great," Tom said awkwardly. Kurt took a bite of his bagel and swallowed.

"I guess it's my turn to ask; are _you_ okay?"

Tom dropped his head onto the desk. "I can't believe I ran over my new colleague," he mumbled.

"It's okay, as I already said a million times," Kurt grinned. "And I'm not going to tell anyone, don't worry."

Tom lifted his head slowly. "Thanks. I'm just so... unbelievably mortified."

"You're exaggerating."

"No, I'm not... I just really, _really_ need you to let me make it up to you."

"It's really okay. I'm not even in pain anymore."

Lisa sprinted back in that instant and handed Kurt a frozen pad. "Here you go," she said breathlessly in her tiny voice. Tom looked a little horrified, and Kurt rolled his eyes.

"You know what? Let's just forget about this," he said, turning back to his breakfast.

He could still feel Tom's eyes on him, making him very self-conscious. He met Tom's gaze for a second, and the other boy looked away quickly, flushed. Kurt chuckled lightly; the whole bumbling, awkward behavior was pretty cute, but maybe it would be better if Tom would calm a bit down.

There was a very faint intake of breath, like Tom was trying to muster the courage to speak.

"Okay, well..." he started, as if he finally got the nerve, "well, at least if you won't accept a coffee apology, then maybe... I mean, I could just buy you another grande skinny mocha... just because...?"

It was Kurt's turn to blush furiously. "You know my coffee order?"

Tom turned bright red and scratched his neck. "Well, I... kinda overheard."

Kurt was a little taken aback, admittedly. It was the awful feeling in the pit of his stomach, the one that had been with him since Battery Park.

He could easily tell Tom that he was flattered and politely refuse. But then he'd feel bad if he didn't explain that it was because he had just gotten out of a relationship, and that would've just reminded him of everything he was trying to forget, about Blaine, about the breakup, about feeling like the happiness had been zapped out of his life.

But instead he just smiled meekly. "Um, we'll see."

Once again, Tom's face fell like a ton of bricks. "Okay."

As he turned back to sorting through emails, Kurt suddenly spotted another biscotti Isabelle had left for him on his desk, and he decided at that moment that maybe it was time to get out of his funk. He knew that it was too soon to think about starting a new relationship, but it's not like he couldn't make friends. After all, Tom was also new to New York; he probably could use a friend as well.

"Sure," Kurt finally said. "Why not?"

A smile automatically spread across Tom's face. "Okay. Great. A-anytime you want."

Kurt shrugged. "Today's fine."

"Excellent," Tom cleared his throat and dialed down his smile. "I mean... great. I mean... okay."

"Okay."

"Just to clarify," Tom added as an afterthought, still flushed, "about earlier, after I- you know, I was- I was genuinely concerned about you, and that was not just an excuse to... um, get your phone number."

"Got it," Kurt nodded, turning back to his work, and pressing his lips together to keep from smiling.

Maybe this is exactly what he needed. And it didn't necessarily have to lead anywhere.

Yet.

* * *

Blaine walked into the choir room. He didn't expect anyone to be there, because he usually came a little earlier for Glee so he could be alone in the choir room. He wasn't used to being _alone_ in the choir room, so he could use a few minutes to collect himself, to get into the right mindset, before having to put on a happy face.

However, Artie, Sam, Tina, Rory and Sugar were already there. They were in a corner, huddled around something and speaking quietly. They hadn't noticed him come in. Blaine approached them silently.

"Well," Sam said suddenly, scratching his head, "he certainly didn't waste any time, did he?"

"What's going on?" Blaine asked. He was surprised when his friends flinched and turned around quickly, almost guiltily.

"Uh, nothing. Just hanging out," Rory replied.

"Checking Twitter," Sugar said, a hint of a smile at the corner of her lips. Tina nudged her.

Blaine eyed them suspiciously. "No, seriously, is something wrong?"

They glanced at each other subtly, before Tina bit her lip and held up her phone.

"You might wanna see this-" she started.

"No, he doesn't," Artie hissed.

"See what?" Blaine asked nervously, taking Tina's iPhone and glancing at the open tweet on the screen. "Who's (a)TomWFarrell?"

No one responded. He guessed he was about to find out anyway.

**Tom Farrell **(a)TomWFarrell

_Ran over a really cute guy on my bike today. Not a great start to New York. He's okay, tho. Me? I'm mortified. D: #FML_

4h

_Cute guy that I almost killed is at the same Starbucks as me. Still mortified. I offered to pay for his coffee and he said no. Bummer :(_

4h

_Turns out Cute Guy I Ran Over W/ My Bike works at Vogue too. Excited but forever embarrassed. Horrible mishap or happy accident? ;)_

4h

As it turned out, (a)TomWFarrell was a new follower to (a)KurtHummel, and viceversa. Blaine stared in disbelief as he went back to (a)TomWFarrell's profile, and found that a new tweet had just been posted.

_Coffee with (a)KurtHummel, aka guy I almost killed with my bike... Not such a bad start to New York after all... ;)_

10s

Blaine looked up and realized the others had been watching him intently the whole time. He handed the phone back to Tina wordlessly.

"Are you alright?" Sam asked.

Blaine didn't reply. The bell rang at that instant, and Mr. Schue and the other Glee members promptly walked, so Blaine didn't have to reply. He didn't even know what to say anyway.

As everyone sat down, Tina sat next to Blaine, and waited for Mr. Schue to start explaining this week's assignment, and for Brittany to launch into some odd rant.

"Are you okay?" Tina asked. He half-shrugged.

"You know, this doesn't mean anything," she continued. "They've just met, and they're both new to New York and to work, they're probably just friends. It doesn't necessarily mean-"

"It's not my business anymore, tho, is it?"

Tina blinked. "What?"

"Kurt can do whatever he wants, and I shouldn't care," he sighed deeply. "I gave up the right to care."

He crossed his arms dejectedly and faced forward again. Tina watched him for a bit.

"But you do care, don't you?" she asked.

Blaine didn't answer out loud. Yes he cared, of course he cared.

All this time he had done nothing but care. He spent an entire week trying fruitlessly to not care about how Kurt was doing, of trying to find out secretly how he had been handling the breakup.

He always knew that, whether they were boyfriends or not, he'd always be concerned for Kurt's well-being, for Kurt's happiness. And never in a million years did he ever wish to be the cause of Kurt being unwell and unhappy. But now he was.

And now someone else, someone other than him, might become Kurt's new source of happiness.

That should be a relief. But it pretty much felt like a stab through his heart.

And he had brought it upon himself.

He'd had a week to think things over, and he came to the conclusion that he had made the biggest mistake of his life.

And he had no idea how to fix it.

* * *

_I just found out Sarah Jessica Parker's character's name about five seconds ago and had to change it. _

_I made the unfortunate mistake to put my iTunes on shuffle while writing and proof-reading. "Ellie's badge" from the "Up" soundtrack came on while rereading Kurt's walk in the park. Tears ensued, and I swear I had to stop working on this for a while. But I feel that song is particularly beautiful and appropriate for that part, as long as you have listened to it plenty of times so that it doesn't break your heart anymore._

_No, I don't want Kurt to end up with someone else. Nor do I wish Blaine to go out with someone else either (especially not Sebastian, I think I'd throw myself off a bridge... or push Ryan Murphy off of one). But I kind of wish that they each meet someone that makes them realize how they don't belong with anyone but each other. And then have an epic reencounter ala The Notebook and sing "Come what may" and for people around them to clap and throw confetti, as Tumblr and Twitter have so perfectly depicted. That would be splendid, for your consideration, RIB. :)_

_Anyhow, thanks for reading! Hope you like it, and please review. Let me know what you think._

_-Vale_


	2. Chapter 2

_I wish I had posted this sooner, like two weeks ago, when it was pretty much ready, instead of now, when I'm an emotional wreck from all the spoilers we're getting._

_I also started part three (the closure), and it should be ready before Thursday, when I'll be too busy paddling on my boat across the sea of "millions of teen tears", including my own._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. It belongs to Ryan Murphy, Ian Brennan, Brad Falchuk, their writers, and FOX._

_Author's note: See part one._

* * *

**Happy accidents**

_by HappyValentina_

* * *

**_Part two_**

Thursday afternoon, Mr. Schue started talking about choreographies and week assignments in Glee club, and Blaine couldn't help tuning out. He'd had a really long week, and he just wanted to get home and stare into the bleak void of his life.

He twirled his phone in his hands, itching to check it again. He suddenly felt someone staring at him.

Artie and Tina looked away when he caught their eye for a nanosecond. They exchanged a quick murmur, before turning forward in their seats.

Jake and Joe got up to do a song, and Mr. Schue sat on the front row to watch. Blaine could check his phone without Mr. Schue noticing. He tapped carefully on the screen.

"What are you doing?"

Blaine flinched his hand away. Sam was casually looking over Blaine's shoulder at his phone.

"Nothing," Blaine said, glaring briefly at his friend before putting his phone away. Out of the corner of his eye, however, he saw Sam pull out his own phone and tap away at the screen rapidly.

Tina and Artie simultaneously reached for their phones and, after reading something on their screens, looked at each other. Blaine rolled his eyes. He knew where this was going.

As soon as the final bell rang, Blaine slung his bag over his shoulder and sprinted toward the exit, but Artie was suddenly there, blocking his path. Blaine stopped dead in his tracks.

"Hey, sorry, buddy. I didn't mean to get in your way. Hey, before you go, could we have a word with you?" Artie said in a fake casual tone. Blaine pretended to check his watch.

"Sorry, I've got stuff to do. Maybe some other time?" he said, trying to keep the exasperation out of his voice, and quickly followed Marley and Wade out of the room.

"Blaine, wait!"

Tina and Sam caught up pretty quickly. Artie trailed them by a bit.

"Blaine, come on. We just want to talk," Sam said, as he and the other tried to keep up with Blaine.

"Well, I don't."

"Have you been checking Tom Farrell's tweets all this week?" Artie asked.

Blaine shook his head. "No, I don't even follow him."

"That doesn't mean you can't still see what he posts," Artie pointed out.

"And Sam says he just saw you checking it," Tina added.

Blaine stopped and turned around, looking at them angrily.

"Fine, I do. I know, it's pathetic. But this is all your fault."

"Our fault?!" his three friends asked indignantly.

"_You_ showed me his tweets. _You_ let me know what was going on. I was going to ignore everything in relation to Kurt until I felt like I was finally over him. But you guys kind of ruined it. And now all I can think about all day long is what this guy might be tweeting about my ex-boyfriend. And I kind of hate myself for turning into some sort of stalker."

"In my defense, _I_ was against showing you," Artie said.

"Wait, if you're the one who broke up with Kurt, shouldn't he be the one acting stalker-ish?" Sam asked. Tina smacked him on the arm. Blaine, however, didn't even have the energy to glare at him.

"You know, I don't really feel like talking or anything. I just want to go home," he said, and walked off, hoping they would leave him alone. He heard one pair of heels clacking after him.

"It's not pathetic, by the way. It's almost normal," Tina said, following him to his locker. "You're having a rough time coping with this, and you still care about him. But this isn't good for you."

Blaine spun the combination of his locker, while Tina stood beside him, leaning against the metal wall, watching him intently.

"I- I just want to know how he's doing," he said with a sigh. "I can't suddenly stop caring about him completely. Obviously this guy's twitter-happy, so maybe he'll post more stuff about him. Especially if they've got something going on already."

Tina shook her head. "Kurt's not like that. He wouldn't just start going out with someone else so soon."

"It's been more than two weeks. And judging from his tweets, this guy's ready to make a move."

"Well, Kurt wouldn't go for it. Not this soon."

"Yeah... okay."

"Blaine," Tina stood squarely beside him so he'd finally look at her, "are you having second thoughts about the breakup?"

"Are _you_ having second thoughts about _your_ breakup?" Blaine asked.

She let out a long stream of air out her lips. "All the time."

"Yeah, me too," Blaine replied, pulling out his chemistry book. When he did, he accidentally pulled out a picture of him and Kurt as well. He still kept it in his locker, just not tacked to the door anymore. He couldn't just get rid of it, though. He shoved it to the back of the locker.

"Clearly Kurt isn't. And it's good that he's moving on. I'll just have to do the same, somehow. Of course, it's probably going to be easier for him, considering he's already got a guy for it."

"Blaine, don't-"

"Just forget it, Tina. If I made a mistake, I'm just gonna have to live with it," he said, giving her a pained look before shutting his locker. Tina shook her head again.

"I have a feeling that you're wrong. And I wish I could convince you to do something about it."

Blaine watched her walk off, while he himself headed for the exit. He pulled out his phone one last time before he reached the door.

_(a)TomWFarrell_

_Pizza, cheesecake and movies with (a)KurtHummel tonight. Ideal. :) #movienight_

_20s ago_

Blaine glared at his phone. He stared very long at Tom Farrell's twitter icon, and really wished he could punch the face on it. He also really wished that this guy were at least a little ugly.

"Fuck my life..." Blaine said quietly, as he pushed through the doors to the courtyard.

* * *

"Hey, so... we're still up for tonight?"

Kurt swiveled around in his seat to look at Tom, who was perched on the edge of his desk.

"Yeah, sure. Don't forget the movies."

Tom smiled his usual, genuinely sweet smile. "Okay. See you later. Bye, Kelly!"

Kelly barely glanced up from her work, offering a mere wave. Tom pulled out his phone and made his way out the glass doors and toward the elevators without looking up from the tiny screen and whatever he was tapping on there.

Kurt only had a couple of things he needed to get done, before he could call it a day and head home.

"You're hooking up already?"

Kurt turned around to look at the only other person left in the office. "Excuse me?"

Kelly didn't look up from what she was doing, as she meticulously arranged some pictures into two separate folders and attached post-its to each one. "You and the new guy."

Kurt cocked an eyebrow. "I have no idea what you're talking about, to be honest."

"The dumb act doesn't fit you, Kurt, you're better than that."

Before Kurt could protest, she continued. "Like it's not embarrassingly obvious the way he looks at you. He blushes like a schoolgirl when you talk to him, and every time he says your name, his whole face lights up. I feel like I'm stuck in a Disney popstar's song."

"Are you talking about Tom? Because I think you're exaggerating."

"Oh, really? So he talks like _that_ on Twitter about just _anyone_."

Kurt narrowed his eyes curiously. "I didn't know you followed him."

"It's part of my job, silly. Keeping tabs on the staff, you know. Pretty soon he's gonna have to cut that out, lest he wants to get fired over something so silly."

"Are they so drastic here about online accounts?" Kurt asked, suddenly nervous.

"It's not that he's posting anything inappropriate, but it would be better if he expressed himself less... publicly." Kelly finally put down the folders and looked up at him. "This is the workplace, and like many other places, interpersonal romantic relationships are either forbidden or frowned upon."

"We're just-"

"Now that's not to say it doesn't happen, like, all the time, but the key here is discretion. If you wanna keep this up, I suggest you determine some boundaries."

Kurt started shaking his head. "We're not-"

"You might not think so, but you are," Kelly gave him a knowing look. "Which leads me to another reason why this is a bad idea. It's really my opinion, but I hope you'll take it into consideration."

Kurt swallowed hard, because he knew exactly what she was going to say. Kelly tilted her head every so slightly, as if it was the most sympathetic gesture she could offer.

"You just got out of a relationship. You haven't given it any time. Just last week, you were like a little gray cloud floating around the office with puffy eyes and threatening to rain all over everyone's parade. Don't you think you should give yourself time to recover, before trying to date again?"

Kurt was about to say something, but Kelly held her hand up. "I'm not saying it's a terrible idea. But right now it kinda is. New guy is a sweet guy; he might be worth it. And if you do this now, there's a pretty big chance that you'll just wind up turning each other into little gray clouds. Because you're not prepared to move on just yet."

Kurt cleared his throat, seeing as she seemed to be done.

"I appreciate your concern, but Tom and I are really just friends. It's nice having a friend right now."

Kelly shrugged. "Suit yourself. I'm just looking out for you."

"Thanks, but I'll be okay," he said with what he hoped was a convincingly light chuckle, and went back to his work. He glanced back after a pause. "You know, I actually had the feeling that you hated me."

Kelly stopped and grinned. "Oh no, sweetie. What you mistake for hatred is just a defense mechanism. I try not to get attached to anyone who might bolt on the first week, which let's face it, most people do. They're not built for this like you and I. Now that I know you're here to stay, I can start liking you."

"Great," he said amusedly, as he tried to focus again on his work. It was proving to be a bit difficult, because every once in a while he'd started thinking about what Kelly had said. A lot.

* * *

Some time around 6:30 p.m., a sweaty and pumped-up Rachel returned from her now routine afternoon run around the block, and sprinted up the stairs to her apartment, to the rhythm of a song on her iPod. She walked in, unzipped her jersey, and hummed as she went to the kitchen to get a drink of water.

"OH MY GOD!"

She ripped the earbuds out of her ears and leapt back so far that she nearly toppled over a stool. In the kitchen, a tall boy with dirty blonde hair jumped so high, too, that he spilled some of the Diet Coke he had been pouring into a glass. He held up his hands in defense.

"It's okay! It's okay! I'm-"

"Rachel?" Kurt poked his head out of the bathroom.

"Kurt?" Rachel looked around and sighed in relief when she saw him.

"Hi, Rachel."

"Ouch, hi, Kurt," she said, rubbing her calf where she had bumped against the stool.

"Are you okay?" the boy asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," she replied, glancing from her friend to the newcomer. Kurt cleared his throat.

"Uh, this is Tom. I told you about him. He's new at Vogue. Tom, this is my roommate, Rachel."

"Very nice to meet you," Tom said, extending a hand toward her. She quickly wiped hers on her pants before taking his.

"Likewise. Kurt, I wish you had told me we were having company over. I wouldn't have made a fool out of myself like I just did. Also, I look a mess."

"Nonsense, you look fine," Tom said charmingly. Kurt smiled.

"We were just going to hang out, watch some movies. You're welcome to join us."

"I brought _Breakfast at Tiffany's_. It sort of made me fall in love with New York, it might help now that I'm feeling kind of homesick."

"Oh hey, Tom's from Ohio as well!"

"Oh really?" Rachel said as pleasantly as she could. She wondered what her face looked like. She felt a little silly, glancing from one to the other, back and forth, like watching a live tennis match.

"Yeah, I'm from Marion. It was so nice to realize that Kurt came from a small town as well. It makes me feel better about feeling so lost in this big city."

"That's nice," Rachel said. Was she nodding too vigorously?

"We brought pizza."

"And cheesecake."

"Lovely. Kurt, can I speak to you for a moment?"

She probably sounded a bit too shrill, and looked a little crazy, what with her heart still beating too fast, and her ponytail coming undone. She might have looked a bit too stiff as she walked toward the door, judging from the look Tom and Kurt exchanged before Kurt followed her outside.

"Are you okay?" Kurt asked uncertainly, once Rachel had shut the door. He winced when she gripped him hard by the wrist and tugged him quickly toward the other end of the hallway.

She spun on her heel and fixed him with a look. "What exactly are you doing?" she hissed.

Kurt looked confused. "What am I... doing...?"

"A guy? Already?"

"We're just friends."

"I'm sorry, is this Tom who ran you over with his bike?"

"Yes."

"Tom who has been tweeting about you since last week?"

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Yes."

"Tom who invited you for coffee every day?"

"Not _every _day."

"So this is Tom who is totally into you."

She crossed her arms expectantly.

"He's not- I mean, we've just met."

"Oh so those cartoon hearts in his eyes are completely platonic."

"Don't go there, Rachel. He's just a friend. I could use a friend."

Rachel gasped indignantly. "_I'm_ your friend."

"What, I can't make a new one? We work together. We're just work-buddies."

There was a silence, while Rachel kind of stared at him like he was an idiot. He huffed.

"It's nothing, Rachel."

"So you're saying he's not after anything?"

"I'm saying that _I'm_ not after anything. I'm just... I don't know," he shrugged, exhaling hard with frustration. "I don't know what I'm doing. I just know that I can't spend another second feeling like crap. I need to get _him_ out of my head."

Rachel suddenly felt bad. It was obvious what Kurt was trying to do. But she couldn't help feeling protective toward him. She knew what he'd been through these past couple of weeks, and even though she knew it was practically impossible, she wished there was a way to stop something like this from happening to him again.

"I'm just saying, it's not fair to you, because you're still... hurting," she had been about to say _"hung up on Blaine"_, but thought it best not to mention that name. "And it's not fair to him, either. You're leading him on." Kurt sighed again.

"I know, I know, I already had a lengthy conversation about this with Isabella's assistant. It's fine. Look, I'm not stupid. I'm not going to jump into anything right now."

"What about him? What if he tries something?"

"He's not like that. But you're welcome to stay and chaperone, if that makes you feel better."

Rachel laughed. "Believe me, I think I should, but I'm meeting with a friend later, so I'm going to take a shower and get dressed and go. I trust that I can leave you alone for a couple of hours and this won't turn into a total disaster." She ran a hand through her messy hair. "Look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to come across like a control freak. I'm... really just concerned for you, Kurt, and I hope you're careful."

She turned to go back to the apartment. Kurt made a noise, like a snort.

"Thanks, Rache. By the way, say hi to your _"friend"_ Brody for me," he said, making quotations with his fingers.

Rachel blushed. "Shut up," she called over her shoulder as she opened the door.

* * *

Kurt would still get a little emotional over the ending of _Breakfast at Tiffany's_. It was one of his favorite films, and that final reencounter under the rain always got him.

He was doing pretty okay, even though all he could think about was how he had watched this film numerous times with Blaine. And all he could hear in his head were the little comments that they shared while cuddling in the couch watching the film for the tenth time together, practically able to recite the dialogue by heart, or just tease each other because they both would still tear up at the end.

"_And the poor cat, I'm so relieved that she went back for the cat. I don't think I would've survived if she had never found it again. What if she hadn't found it? Every time we watch it, I get really nervous, like I think this time she's not gonna find it," _Blaine had said, but he hadn't really been joking. Kurt had merely patted him on the head, and pecked him on the forehead, making Blaine smile again.

_Stop it, _Kurt mentally kicked himself.

He was relieved when the credits started rolling. Since it was still kind of early, they agreed to watch another one, so Kurt went to make more popcorn, leaving Tom to pick what they would watch next.

He almost dropped the bowl of popcorn when he heard the music from the opening credits of _When Harry Met Sally_. His heart sank into his stomach.

"I'm sure you've watched this one before, but I thought maybe we should just re-watch a classic, in case either one of us falls asleep, so we won't miss anything," Tom called.

Kurt stood in the kitchen, wondering what to do, what to say, to make it stop. Instead he just listened.

"_...with my friend, Arthur Kornblum, in a restaurant, it was a Horn and Hardart cafeteria. And this beautiful girl walked in, and I turned to Arthur, and said "Arthur, you see that girl? I'm going to marry her". And two weeks later we were married. And it's over fifty years later and we are still married..." _

"Do you need help?" Tom called. Kurt put his hand over his face.

"I'm fine," he said as clearly as he could. However, Tom's voice was coming closer.

"I was going to get some more ice, anyway, do you- oh my god, are you okay?"

Kurt waved a hand dismissively and wiped one of his cheeks. But he couldn't stop crying, he just couldn't. His chest suddenly hurt, like he was being punched repeatedly, and he was almost hunching over. And he couldn't talk. He couldn't utter a word, and Tom just stood there, worriedly, watching him. He must have looked like a crazy person.

Tom snatched up a couple of napkins and grabbed Kurt by the elbow. He led him to the couch and sat him down, sitting next to him. He looked at Kurt earnestly, like a puppy begging for attention, rubbing his back and offering him a napkin.

"Hey, come on, sit here. Take a deep breath. What's wrong?"

Again, Kurt couldn't say anything. Taking a deep breath was impossible; it hurt like a bitch.

"Do you want me to leave? Or can I get you something? Should I call Rachel? I can-"

Tom was interrupted by Kurt's lips on his. Slightly taken aback, Tom's eyes grew wide, but they involuntarily fluttered closed when Kurt didn't stop kissing him. Kurt's hand hooked behind his neck, pulling him closer, and Tom's own hands instinctively circled around Kurt's waist slowly, tentatively.

Kurt paused suddenly, staring at Tom, their faces still inches from each other, both breathing heavier.

Kurt came to when a loud honk startled him. On the screen, big-haired Meg Ryan had slammed down on the horn to get Billy Crystal to stop kissing the girl with the even bigger hair and get in the car.

Snapping back to reality, and shocked at his own actions, Kurt backed away immediately, like he had just burned himself. He buried his face in his hands and just breathed hard.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm not... I'm..."

Tom didn't say anything; he looked a little awestruck. The silence between them was full of Harry's and Sally's rapid-fire conversation.

"Hey, Tom?"

Tom reached quickly for the space bar on the keyboard of his laptop, freezing the characters' banter. "Yeah?" he said a little breathlessly.

"I've been meaning to tell you."

"What?"

Kurt took a deep breath. "I... just got out of a... relationship."

Tom's face fell ever so slightly. "Oh..."

"That's why I've been acting weird. Not that you'd know. We just met, after all."

"I- I know. Kelly... kinda told me," Tom admitted sheepishly. Kurt would've been more outraged if he hadn't been so mortified by the current situation.

"She wasn't gossiping, if that's what you're worried about," Tom said hurriedly. "I just asked her, and she didn't go into details."

"You asked her?"

"I was concerned. Isabella mentioned that you hadn't been eating properly."

"She did?"

"Yeah, she said, 'well, since you're going to lunch with him, make sure he eats something'."

Kurt sniffed and shook his head. "I should've told you. I'm sorry."

"No, no, it's okay. I- I understand," Tom replied quickly.

"It's been hard, and I just..." he trailed off, unable to look Tom in the eye. Tom understood, though.

"You... can't be more than friends with anyone right now."

Kurt nodded. "That's it."

"I understand."

"I just don't want you to think that I was taking advantage of you or leading you on, on purpose."

Tom waved a hand dismissively. "That was my fault. I think I got too excited about meeting someone within days of getting to New York. It's clear that I've been watching too many romcoms," he smiled, but he couldn't quite hide the pain in his eyes, and it made Kurt feel even worse.

There was another long silence. Tom got up to get more napkins for him. Kurt wanted to shout at him to stop being so nice to him, because he didn't deserve it. Instead he gave a feeble 'thanks' before taking a napkin and wiping his nose.

"I know it's none of my business, but... why did you break up with your boyfriend?"

Kurt gave a mirthless chuckle. "Actually, he broke up with me."

Tom's eyebrows shot up for a split second, before Kurt continued.

"He's still back in Lima, and it was hard for him, I know it was. I know that I was wrong to ignore him, even just a little bit. I just thought that, after pushing me so much to come here, and being so supportive, and saying that the year would breeze past and then we'd be together here, I was hoping he'd be more patient. Ever since I got here, I have never felt more inadequate. I've never second-guessed myself so much. Most of the time I'm just trying to keep it together, trying to fit in. I'm just really afraid of failing right now. I was afraid of disappointing him."

"I see," Tom nodded.

"He visited two weeks ago, and said that he had been thinking a lot about it, that it wasn't fair to either one of us, and that it was better this way, that maybe we should stop trying to force the long-distance relationship. That I was experiencing so many new things, and he didn't want to be the one holding me back. And no amount of argument could convince him otherwise," Kurt's voice caught in his throat.

"I'm so sorry, Kurt."

More tears spilled from Kurt's eyes, before he could stop them.

"And I just want to hate him," he said bitterly, "but I can't, because I still love him. I love that idiot... so much. And I kinda hate myself because I don't know how to stop, or if I'm even really trying to stop loving him."

It took him a minute to stop crying again. He breathed deeply and looked embarrassed at Tom.

"I'm sorry that I'm _still_ venting my romantic frustrations on you. You obviously don't need it. You're new here too. And I just kind of took advantage of you."

Tom shook his head and smiled. "Hey, I'm just hoping that we could _not_ let this get awkward between us or anything, and that we can still be friends."

"I'd like that," Kurt smiled sadly.

"Great."

Tom bit his lip and looked down at his hands, like he was trying to figure out what to do next. Finally, he turned to Kurt and sighed.

"Listen, I'm gonna go home. I think you need some time to think, and so do I." He placed a hand on Kurt's shoulder. "But call me if you need someone to talk to. I mean it."

Kurt chuckled. "You really are a nice guy, aren't you?"

"Well, I can't help it," Tom shrugged comically, eliciting another laugh from Kurt.

Tom picked up his laptop and put on his coat, and headed for the door.

"Hey," he turned with his hand on the door-handle, "I know it's still none of my business but... if your ex-boyfriend knows what's good for him, he'll realize his mistake and fix this."

Kurt smiled at him gratefully before Tom waved goodbye and left.

* * *

The next day, Tina and Sam walked into the choir room on third period, to find Blaine sitting there, making small talk with Marley. He looked suspiciously cheerful.

"What's with him now?" Sam asked, frowning in confusion.

"I don't know," Artie answered, rolling up just behind them. "But in History class he told a joke and everything. It was really weird."

Tina thought about it for a moment and pulled out her phone, logging into Twitter quickly. Pretty soon she had the answer to the conundrum.

_(a)TomWFarrell_

_Sometimes a heart can take being just friends. After all, it's better than nothing._

_8h ago_

Tina narrowed her eyes judgmentally as she sat down next to Blaine.

"I'm guessing you already saw his latest tweet."

Blaine didn't reply, or even look at her. But the way that he pressed his lips together, like he was trying to keep from smiling, was quite tell-tale. Tina shook her head, but she couldn't help smile slightly too.

"Tina?"

"Yes?"

"I have to go to New York."

In front of them, Artie and Sam gasped excitedly and did ridiculous little dances in celebration and some very random high fives, and Tina had to fight back a laugh. She cleared her throat and looked at Blaine seriously.

"Yes, you do."

* * *

_There you go. That's me, I just have to steer it toward a happy klaine-ding (that's a happy ending, but with Klaine). So part three should be up in the next couple of days, otherwise it will be lost at the bottom of the ocean of my tears, come thursday._

_I'm sorry if you're exhausted with my Breakfast at Tiffany's references, but I can't help it, I love that movie so much._

_Also I'm forever grateful to those assholes, Ryan Murphy & Co., for one of the greatest romantic bits ever._

_"So it'll be just like 'When Harry Met Sally'. But I get to be Meg Ryan."_

_"Deal... don't they get together in the end?"_

_You know it. The rest is history. _

_Hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading!_

_-Vale_


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